Monster Münch - This Massive German Motorcycle Was Top Trumps!
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- Опубліковано 12 вер 2024
- Wobbly Phil recalls a huge, hand-built German motorcycle from the 1970s that weighed a third of a ton, the Münch Mammut 1200 TTS.
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Video links:
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Münch Mammut in workshop:
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#classicmotorcycles #1970smotorcycles #munchmotocycles #motorcyclehistory
When I was young and living in Belgium there was a person in our town who was driving a Münch 1000, dark blue and he drove that for very long time.
Thanks for another great video, showing another mad machine.
Our pleasure! Glad you enjoyed it. 😊
Great informative/ amusing video, cheers 👍
Thank you! Those Bike magazines were a bit of an inspiration for me back in the 1970s, I enjoyed their informal (for those days, anyway) style of journalism and I think it’s stuck with me over the years!
Makes you realise how lucky we are to have the choice of modern or classic machines of all varieties . The 70's were rather desperate times.
It certainly does, and they certainly were. There were lots of ideas about back then, but very little investment money to back them with. The oil crisis didn’t help, I suppose. Nowadays we seem to have investment piling in to anything that’s branded ‘innovative’ or ‘disruptive’ but I’m not sure that’s a good thing either - for example S Garner and his Norton fiasco / Ponzi scheme (allegedly).
Phil I loved this video ! You and I must be about the same age because back in the 1970s i discovered the Much also . Much like Silk I was fascinated with the Big Much . Never seen one in person but read every thing I could get my hands on. By the way I am almost 62 yrs.old. love the channel Phil.
Thank you, you’re too kind! Yes, we’re the same age although I’m about to be a year older than you in a few days. 😢 I’m not much of a one for birthdays so if the weather’s fine I’ll probably go out for a prolonged wobble! I think there are a few more of these ‘forgotten’ bikes to explore, the ones we rarely heard about but were fascinated by when we did, so watch this space!
Two guys who owned a motorcycle shop here in Denmark, made their own Münch back in the early 70’s. It started with a BSA B31 frame, a NSU 1200 engine which got a Kawasaki Z 1000 gearbox welded to it and, as far as I believe, Z 1000 suspension too.
Skjern MC?
@@noahwail2444
Yep, excactly.
Comerfords in Thames Ditton had a Mammut in stock for ages in the early 1970s. We often went to stare at machines we couldn't afford, including the Münch.
If only there had been a dealership in my neck of the woods that had put one in their window! Sadly, in my run-down seaside town, the best we had to gawp at was a few Suzukis and the occasional Honda. Thanks for the comment. 😊
I think the Horex had passed me by until now. Consider me entetained and educated. Thanks for vid.
You’re most welcome. It’s odd, isn’t it, how Horex is such a blind spot for us Brits? I’m very grateful to my German YT friends for enlightening me!
Horex is definitely new to me. And ive been a bike fan since the mid 60s.
It’s an interesting niche to explore. I’m not sure they were exported much from Germany but I’m sure our German viewers will tell us more. 😊
The Mammoth, a trip back in time to when the world was dressed from head to toe in denim and reeked of Hai-Karate and Brut33. I remember an article in Bike about a guy in Australia who cut the end off a Merlin engine and created a 4? litre V twin...and someone made a plywood monocoque Norton "Red Shift". Drugs may have a lot to answer for,,, I can remeber all this but I'm struugling to remember what I had for breakfast.
Ha! You forgot Old Spice! I think someone else has mentioned the plywood monocoque in the comments here, may be worth a search?
Never seen a Munch on the road but saw one in a local Queensland bike museum (which has since closed) about 6 years ago. Imp engines were common in sidecar outfits if I remember correctly. As a teen I remember having some type of 'top trump' cards but with motorcycles & the Mammoth was top card! Didn't the enclosed Quasar have a Reliant engine?
Sadly I’ve never seen one in real life, not even in a museum. And yes, the Quasar had an 850cc four cylinder Reliant Robin engine in it. A mate of mine, called Phil of course, had a Bond Bug and the Quasar always looked to me like someone had sawn his Bond Bug in half. By the way, being driven by him in the Bond Bug was an absolutely terrifying experience!
@@3Phils I had a Reliant Regal back in the day. Many of my mates had them to travel to work in winter, could be driven on a bike licence. I'd like a Bug, always thought they looked good.
The Bug looked great on the outside. Inside it was very rudimentary. And going around corners on two wheels was ‘fun’! Ah, the exuberance of youth!
Back in the 70’s the Münch 1200 cost the same as two brandnew BMW R100RS. Unfortunately Friedl Münch was a better craftman than moneyman. He went bankrupt all the times. If i should ever get a lucky lottery ticket, I’ll get me a Münch Mammut 1200. 😅
They sure were pricey! I think you could compare Herr Münch to Mr Silk, the subject of one of my previous videos. Clearly craftsmen, but in desperate need of a money brain behind them. Thanks for the comment. 😊
Munch 1200 was in the Top Trumps motorcycle pack I had back in the ''70's, if I remember right it won on biggest engine and heaviest bike category, stuck in my mind because of that.
Quite right! Now you’ve got me wondering if there was a heavier bike than the Münch back then. Hmm, I’ll go away and do a bit of research. Thanks for the comment. 😊
@@3Phils of all the bikes in the pack if I was asked to name one it would be the Munch 1200, only other one I could name is the Honda 400/4.
I think the Z1 was in there too, wasn’t it?
@@3Phils as strange as it is I love Kawasaki more than any other bikes, I can't remember😳😡
I’m going to have to find a set on eBay now!
I was I guess in Altenstadt and had a look, a stunning machine, ranked with myth, well with 18 completely unaffordable. (and God knows what it was good for ) I think the chain was running in an oil bath rear swing arm ! Biggest Duplex brakes air cooled inlet. The NSU TTS engines also became rare as NSU (Audi later) ended production of this little beast NSU Prince TTS. Guess Kawasaki brought with the Z900 the market killer for those special machines and others. As I heard "Friedel" was a great and good hearted engineer, but not the business man he may have needed to be as well. (excuse if I am wrong with this) Much later when the name was nearly forgotten a rivival of the "Münch" in a newer very strong and very expensive version built in Tschecheslovakia (?) was intended. Produced just upon order and downpayment. I don´t know how many of these machines were built before ending production finally. B.r. Tom fr. Germany
Thank you for the additional information there, very much appreciated and it adds a lot to the story. Looking at the photographs of Herr Münch, he does seem to have a twinkle in his eye and I imagine he was quite a character. I’ve met a few old time motorcycle engineers and they’ve all been deadly serious until you get to know them better, then they often reveal a very ‘dry’ sense of humour, and I imagine Münch was similar. I would have loved to have met him.
Thanks for another brill vid! I think I had the same bike p0rn under my bed ... but I was sure Munch was just a myth ... until now. Unlike the CBX and Jota, I will not be adding this to my 'Poor Old Codger's List of Desires'.
Ha! I’ve seen 80 year olds riding CBXs, but I wouldn’t recommend anyone over the age of 60 getting astride a Münch unless they’ve had titanium hip joints implanted. Wait, what am I talking about?The Harley Road Glide is 200lbs heavier than the Münch and there are plenty of Gerard Depardieu lookalikes riding them!
When playing Top Trumps at school, you always hoped that the Munch would be in your hand.
Absolutely
I had the rather painful experience of going on a short tour on the back of a Munch 1200! That was uncomfortable to say the least and I will never sit on one again! 😆😆But it was fast and brutal! This was 1974.
Not sure I would have volunteered for that myself, but what an amazing tale to be able to tell! Thanks for the comment. 😊
@@3Phils Lol! It was scary...believe me! 😆😆
@user-vd6is7fg7h 🤣
Few days ago I cast my mind back to the mythical VanVeen and then thought "what was that other lump called, that used an NSU engine?" and speak of the devil...here it is, in all its` high centre of gravity` glory. Its` graceful lines remind me of Mr Bugatti`s description of a Mercedes racer being "the worlds fastest lorry", after it lapped him a few times. - Think they were good with a sidecar though
Hehe! I’m not sure handling was front and centre of Herr Münch’s thinking, just straight line speed! I must do a video on the Van Veen, thanks for reminding me (again!).
Bugatti described Bentleys as the fastest lorries.
@@philhawley1219Seems I stand corrected sir. Thankyou for that. Apologies Mercedes
There were a few weird bikes made in Australia around that time using car engines and agricultural engines, 2 that I remember seeing in person was the nortina 1600 ford crossflow from a cortina in a feather bed frame and a creation called the howard 1200cc v twin out of a cultivator, bbq plates cut up for engine mounts i think the frame was either harley or Indian. Handled like crap so could be either.
Indeed, blokes got busy in their sheds in those days. The guy who built the Impfield swore it handled fine, and it took him on some international adventures so it must have been fairly reliable. These folk were the Allen Millyards of their day, without the benefit of being able to document it on UA-cam. I wonder how his bikes handle? 🤔
@@3Phils the nortina handled surprisingly well for what it was just a bit heavy , they were crazy times for insane builds especially when small turbos started coming out no waste gates or rev limiters there were also a few brave souls that went the turbo supercharger route lucky to get 5000k often much less before things went boom tinkle tinkle followed by the word bugger . A few experiments with small diesels had promise single cylinder listers and lombardies and even a couple of hatz diesels. The problem was getting the gearbox to hold up with the engine pulsing they ate everything pre unit triumph norton , harley all failed in very short order . My best build out of a pile of scrap was BSA sloper , ajs gearbox in a homemade frame hard tail of course
Interesting. I know Münch moved on from his initial attempts with a Featherbed frame and designed one of his own but I have little idea what he did with the drive train. And, of course, he did his own experiment with a turbo version. I have very little experience with 70s turbos, apart from my boss letting me drive his Saab Turbo once - he must have been mad! The lag was palpable!
@@3Phils The drive on the Münch is a chain in a sealed oil bath. Half of rear swing arm is also one half of the chain housing.
Horex have a 6 cyl now.
Indeed, as mentioned in the video.
Remember being impressed by the sheer size and power of this behemoth, but…
It reminds me of the 1960’s MV Agusta 600 which had the exquisite twin cam motor wrapped up in a rolling chassis almost as ugly as the Münch.
There’s an idea for you…
“Ugliest bikes from revered manufacturers…SHOCK HORROR”
Clickbait is the way forward!
Ha! Actually I think someone has already done that, something similar keeps coming up in my YT feed. Or it could be some kind of AI-generated clickbait nightmare, it’s hard to tell these days. Thanks for the comment. 😊
Top Trumps mastercard 😮
The were so ugly plump bikes.
Ah, but its father must have loved it!Thanks for the comment. 😊